Pasta with pesto

Because the Italian flag has green in it too.

pasta-with-pesto

Ingredients

Pesto:
  • 50g pine nuts
  • ¼ cup grated parmigiano
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 large bunches of fresh basil
Main:
  • 350g farfalle
  • 400-500g mushrooms
  • 1 onion
  • 150g pancetta
  • 2 tbsp fresh pesto

Instructions

Pesto:
  1. Roast the pinenuts in a pot (the one you use later for the pasta is fine).
  2. Add roasted pinenuts to the salt and garlic to grind them all together.
  3. Add the basil, cheese, and oil in small quantities and pound them as you go.
Main:
  1. Dice onion and fry it up in olive oil with the pancetta. It's a good idea to put the pasta water on now too.
  2. Once they have softened, add in the freshly chopped mushrooms and cover.
  3. Boil the pasta water and cook the pasta as per the required time, remembering to salt the water once the pasta is in.
  4. After 10-15 minutes, add in 2-4 tbsp of fresh pesto to the mushroom mix, and turn off the heat as you fold it in. Cooking it for too long reduces the flavour and the punch of the garlic/basil.
  5. Add the cooked pasta into the mix before serving.

Serves 4 + pesto for another time.